


An Invasion of Personal Space and Quiet Sleeping Spots

by acloudysky



Series: Before the Cold Sets In [1]
Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: And Teasing him about his crush on Aymeric, It's just Haurchefant flirting with Estinien, Just Two Bros Chilling on a Roof, M/M, Pre-Calamity, but also not really
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-05
Updated: 2020-07-05
Packaged: 2021-03-04 22:14:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,644
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25083700
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/acloudysky/pseuds/acloudysky
Summary: OrEstinien wants to stew in his feelings alone. Haurchefant will have none of it, especially when it concerns their dear mutual friend.
Relationships: Aymeric de Borel/Estinien Wyrmblood, Haurchefant Greystone/Estinien Wyrmblood
Series: Before the Cold Sets In [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1816696
Comments: 3
Kudos: 45





	An Invasion of Personal Space and Quiet Sleeping Spots

**Author's Note:**

> I originally threw this together as a gift for a friend. I just don't think the game actually explored the established relationships between the Heavensward NPCs enough and so I'll do it on my own. There's just something fun about the idea of Haurchefant relentlessly teasing Estinien.

“I have no want for company at the moment.” 

Estinien had but recently left the regular contingent of Temple Knights to start proper dragoon training and it was taking its toll both physically and mentally. He could not go home to the small apartment he and Alberic shared, no matter how much as the passably comfortable bed he called his own called to him. The older man would know too much about what was going on in his head. 

Concern, worry, pity. 

He wanted none of it. 

The cold distance, the knowing sneers of the other Knights were even less welcomed. So he had claimed a roof with a good view of Coerthas as his own for the evening, drifting in and out of a light sleep for the better part of the last hour. It had been a welcome reprieve. His body was worn out, the intensity of the training surprising him despite his expectations going in. The rooftop was up high enough to filter out most of the sound from the streets, changing it from a distracting, unpleasant roar to almost peaceful background noise. That, combined with the gentle warmth of the late evening sun made the roof an almost perfect location for a late evening nap. 

Or it had been, until a certain House Fortemps bastard had managed to spy him from gods knows where and made it his personal mission to interrupt his rest. 

“That may be so, but sources have relayed to me that you may need it.” 

“Whoever your sources are, they are lying. I would not be up here if that was the case,” Estinien said as he rolled over to face away from Haurchefant. The roof was not easily accessible to anyone without the knowledge and skill afforded to dragoons or the ability to fly, and since riding chocobos within the city was severely frowned upon Estinien figured he could win the war of attrition that was about to take place. 

It was a miscalculation on Estinien’s part. He had not been acquainted with the young knight long enough to know the true extent of his persistence. 

Really he knew little about him. He appeared to be rather close friends with Aymeric and every interaction they’d ever had had happened with him present as well. Overly cheerful, optimistic, and oddly observant were qualities Estinien tended to avoid in other people (which made him question the fast growing friendship he had with Aymeric on more than one occasion) and Lord Haurchefant possessed all three in excess. Maybe he should have deduced that insistence on friendship would naturally follow suit, but his mind had been elsewhere as of late. 

He had all but drifted off to sleep when the sound of impossibly close footsteps roused him. 

Well there went one secluded napping spot. 

“How in the seven hells did you get up here?” 

“That will remain my secret,” Haurchefant said with a wink as he laid down beside Estinien, who did not fail to note how comfortably close he was, “unless you plan on telling my you have been avoiding our dear friend Ser Aymeric de Borel, who I need not remind you cares about you a great deal and even though he won’t say it is very worried-” 

“I am going to throw you off of this roof and feel not a single onze of regret.” 

“Fine, fine. You have made your point.” 

Estinien immediately regretted the threat. The knowing way Haurchefant stared at him was far worse than any amount of guilt tripping the other man could do. A few minutes in silence under the younger man’s knowing gaze was almost enough to break him. 

“Truly, they are not exaggerating when they say you may well be the second coming of Haldrath himself.” 

What was that supposed to mean? He’d thus far only heard the sentiment uttered in regard to his skill with a lance, but there was no reason for Haurchefant to comment on his skills in battle right now. They were laying on a roof without an enemy in sight. 

As Estinien laid there, confusion evident on his face, it hit him. 

Haurchefant was flirting with him. 

He was either particularly dense and had never noticed anyone flirting with him before (a possibility, given his proclivity towards ignoring the actions of most people) or no one had been bold enough to actually do so (also a possibility, given his self-imposed distance and dismissiveness towards most people). Regardless, this was the first time he had been aware of it and that shook something within him. 

Whether Estinien willed it or not, his body immediately tensed, eyes going wide, the heat of his face betraying just how new of a situation this was to him. 

“Adorable. I see now why Aymeric is so taken with you. Speaking of which, let us return to the matter at hand. You’ve been avoiding him.” 

Estinien could tell what Haurchefant was doing. The whiplash of invading his personal space to flirting with him to very unsubtly (and he could only assume intentionally) bringing up Aymeric did a lot to shake any semblance of an even footing in the conversation. This was different from all of the roundabout talk of politicians. He could handle the indirectness by being direct, the purposeful obscuration by bringing direct attention to what others were trying to dance around. Haurchefant was clearly even more well versed at the same game. Estinien had to assume it came from spending his whole life surrounded by the politics of Ishgard, whether he wanted to be or not. 

The longer he deliberated on how to respond, the deeper Haurchefant’s gaze dug under his skin. He could deal with pressure akin to this on the battlefield, but now it was absolutely crumbling every mental wall he’d ever put up. 

“I have not.” Haurchefant raised his eyebrows, which was all he needed to do to communicate that he absolutely did not believe a word coming out of Estinien’s mouth. “Or, at least I have not been on purpose.” 

He hadn’t been, really. There had been a period where he and Aymeric spent much of their time together. It was shortly after they first met. Estinien had few excuses and fewer friends still to use to avoid spending time with the other man. Not that he really needed either. Aymeric, as he quickly found out, was enjoyable to be around. 

Even more shocking, Aymeric seemed to enjoy being around him. 

But that had been more than a year ago now. Aymeric had risen in the ranks and with that came more and more responsibility (which Estinien had the sneaking suspicion that commanders above Aymeric were unfairly putting on him). Estinien was well on his way to becoming a dragoon proper and that meant most of his time was spent training with the rest of the current and soon to be dragoons. 

It must have been clear that the training was taking a toll on him though, because every time they did find a moment to spend together Aymeric insisted on asking if he was okay. 

So maybe he had been avoiding him, but it was out of a place of worry (and no, Estinien did not want to think about how Aymeric was the first person since the death of his family that he had earnestly worried about). There was no reason to burden him with more problems when he already had enough on his plate. Estinien could deal with dragoon training. Many before him had. There was no reason why he couldn’t. 

“Well, at least you’re being truthful now. Such obvious weaknesses are not befitting of one so adamant about their lack of care for other people.” The sarcasm was palpable in the air. 

“Aymeric is one of the few truly just people in this city and I would not burden him with any additional worries. It goes no deeper than that.” Estinien’s glare was met with a laugh. 

“Oh to have the heart of one so closed off to everyone else. Aymeric truly is a lucky man.” 

“I have changed my mind. I am throwing you off this roof.” 

“I jest, I jest. No need to resort to violence.” At that moment Haurchefant’s expression shifted from playful to serious, eyes narrowing and smile disappearing as he looked on. “I have known Aymeric since we were both young. Our circumstances are. . .similar and we bonded over that. Which is how I can say with absolute certainty that you avoiding him weighs more heavily on his heart than any of your individual worries ever could.” 

The idea that his own absence might do more harm than good had never crossed his mind. Estinien had been on his own for so long that he had never even considered the idea. The idea that everyone in his life would eventually disappear was a well internalized one. Most people did not function like that though. 

“I did not realize. . .” 

“And for that I am sure Aymeric will forgive you. In fact, I happen to be in possession of the knowledge that he has tonight free and judging by the fact that you were asleep on this roof until I happened upon you I assume you do as well. I would bet the entirety of the Fortemps estate on him accepting an invitation for drinks immediately.” 

It was as much of a push as he needed. 

“Oh, and Estinien?” 

“Yes?” 

“If things, gods forbid it, don’t work out between the two of you for some reason there is an open spot in my chambers that I would gladly keep warm for you.” Another wink. Haurchefant was going to kill him. 

Besides (ignoring the fact that the other man had clearly deduced his feelings for Aymeric), where did he even get the idea that Aymeric returned his feelings?


End file.
